Archer&#39;s bow



A. E. SHEPHERDSON.

ARCHERS BOW.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1918.

1 ,396, 7 88,, I Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

Fig.1.

' enmr. fibner he phev'd I IITVS.

UNITED STATES .AIBNER E. SHEPHERDSON, 0F MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.

ARCHERS BOW Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 15, 1921.

Application filed May 9, 1918. Serial No. 233,428.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ABNER E. SHEPHERD- SON, a citlzen of the United States, residing .at Melrose, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Archers Bows, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts. I

This invention relates to bows such as archers use, and particularly to bows of the jointed type in which the limbs are separable from each other and detachably secured together.

The object of the invention. is to provide a novel. jointed bow having wooden limbs which has superior casting qualities, which is constructed so that it is rigid and unyielding at the handle portion thereof, and which has other advantages, all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In order to give an understanding of the invention, I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment of the invention which will now be described, after which the novel features thereof will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is. a view of an archers bo'w embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section through the handle portion of the bow;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the handle showing parts in section to better show the construction;

Fig. 4: is a section on the line 1-4, Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 shows the bow disjointed.

As stated above, my bow is of the type in which the upper and lower limbs are separable from each other and detachably secured togethen These limbs are made of wood, and the manner in which they are connected together is such as to produce at the central. Or handle portion of the bow a rigid, unyielding section of a length substantially the same as the width of a persons hand, and also so as to produce at such central portion an increased weight which is of assistance in steadying the how when it is released.

In the bow illustrated in the drawings, 1 indicates the upper limb, 2 the lower limb, and 3 the. string. The limbs are both made of wood and are connected by the handle p01 tion 4, one or both of the limbs being detachably secured to the. handle as desired.

The detachable connection between the handle and the limb is provided for by makmg the handle with a socket into which the inner end of the removable or separable limb ISIOCGlVBLl. Where both limbs are detachable from the handle, then the latter will have a socket in each end thereof and this is the construction here-in illustrated.

The handle member herein shown is in the form of a stiii, cylindrical shell -l preferably of metal which is open at both ends and is provided with a suitable covering to give a good feeling in the hand. Any suitable material may be used for covering the shell 4, but I find good results are secured by winding the shell with a strip of tape 5 and then applying to the oustide of the tape an exterior envelop 6 of leather or suitable material, the exterior envelop being united to the tape by glue or other cementitious sub stance.

Each limb of the bow is provided at its inner end with a metal ferrule 7 which accurately fits the interior of the shell it. Each ferrule 7 is preferably made somewhat longer than one-half the length of the shell 4: so that when the ferruled ends of the two limbs are inserted into the ends of the shell sutliciently so that they meethas shown in Fig. 2, the outer ends of the ferrules 7 will project slightly beyond the ends of the shell. In fitting the ferrule 7 to the limb ends I will preferably turn the limb ends down thereby to form the shoulder 8 on each limbagainst which the end of the ferrule abuts, the portion 9 of the limb immediately beyond the end of the ferrule having a diameter equal to that of the ferrule. A second ferrule or ring 10 is then slipped over the first ferrule 7 and positioned so as to embrace both the outer end of the ferrule 7 and the portion 9 of the bow limb adjacent the ferruleT. This band or ring 10 acts to confine the wood fibers immediately adjacent the end of the ferrule 7 and thus prevents any tendency of the wood to split at this point.

Each end of the shell-like handle 4. thus constitutes a socket to removably receive the ferruled end of a bow limb.

For properly positioning the limbs 1 and 2 in the handle, I propose to e1nploy,interlocking means between each bow member and the handle. Such intcrlockin. means can conveniently be in the form 0 a poor ill) tioning pin or projection 11 extending from the bow limb and adapted to enter a notch 12 formed in the edge of the handle or shell 4:. This interlocking connection permits the bow limb to be readily removed from the handle'and at the same time holds it from turning in the handle after it has been reinserted therein.

VVith this construction either or both limbs may be removed from the handle when the bow is not in use, thus shortening by onehalf the space occupied by the bow, as seen in Fig. 5. This is a decided advantage because the ordinary archers bow used by men is six feet long, and any article of this length is more or less awkward to carry or trans- .port. An article having a length of only about three feet, however, is relatively easy to carry around.

There is another advantage which results from the construction herein shown, and that is that the bow is rendered stiff and unyieldingat the central portion. Neither the metallic handle 4 nor the ferrules 7 will give or bend when the bow is drawn and hence all of the bend in the bow must take place beyond the ferrules 7. This results in increasing the cast of the bow because a bow which bends in the handle as well as in the limbs when itis drawn hasless'casting power than a bowwhich bends in the limbs only.

There is a still furtheradvantage resulting from the above construction and that is that the presence of the metallic handle 4 and ferrules 7 increase slightly the weight at the; handle, and the result is to increase the smoothness with which the bow projects the arrow and to decrease thett'endency ofthe bow to kick'when the string is released. I attribute thisto the fact that the inertia of the added weight at the 'handletends to steady the bow and to overcome any tendency to kick.

I In nocking the arrow it is the practice to rest the arrow. on the side of; the bow directly above the handle, said arrow' being I held in this position while the bow is being drawn and when it is released.

' In the construction herein shown the band or ring 10 is situated at a slight distance from theen'd of the handle4 and the space between the band or ring and handle constitutes an arrow-guiding groove which'receives the arrow'whlle the bow is being drawn and when it is released.

While I have herein illustrated a construction in which both limbs are detachable from thehandle, yet the advantages above enumerated could be secured if one limb only were detachablefrom the handle and the other limb were permanently secured thereto.

Another advantage resulting from the sec- 1 tional bow is'that if either limb becomes accide'ntally broken, it can readily be replaced -w1th anew limb, thus making a new bow and obviating the necessity of discarding the entire bow.

I claim:

1. In an archers how, the combination with a rigid, tubular handle portion of metal provided with a notch at each end, of two wooden limbs, each having a metal ferrule at its inner end which fits into one end of said tubular handle portion, each ferrule being slightly longer than onehalf the length of the handle portion so that when the limbs are placed in the handle portion with their ends abutting, the ferrules project beyond the handle portion, and a pin extending through each ferrule and into the wooden limb and having a portion projecting beyond said ferrule to engage one of said notches, said pins operating both to assist in retaining the ferrule on the limband to insure the proper position of each limb in the handle and relative to each other, said handle portion and ferrule providing a rigid, unyielding central portion to the bow and also providing additional weight at the handle portion which increases the steadiness of the bow when the string is released.

2. In an archers bow, the combination with a rigid, tubular handle portion having a length approximately the same as the width of the hand, of two limbs each having at its inner end a'metal ferrule of uniform diameter throughout its length which tightly fits into one end of said handle por tion, each ferrule being slightly longer than one-half the length of the handle portion so that when the limbs are set into the handle the feri'ules project beyond the ends of the handle, theport-ion of each limb which is inclosed by the ferrule being of slightly reduced diameter so that the exterior of the ferrule is flush with the exterior of the limb adjacent the end of the ferrule, and a band encircling the projecting end of each ferrule and the portion of the limb adjacent said ferrule end, said bands eliminating any tendency of the wooden limb to check at the end of the ferrule-due to the bending of the limb as the bow is drawn and the band on the upper limb being properly spaced from theend of the handle to form between it and the handle an arrow-guiding groove.

3. In an archers how, the combination with a rigid, tubular handle portion, of two wooden limbs, each having at its inner end a metal ferrule which fits tightly into the tubular handle, each ferrule having a length slightly. greater than one-half the length of the handle whereby the two ferrules project slightly beyond the ends of the handle, and

flush with the end of the cor-' cooperating means on the ferrules and handles to position the limbs properly relative to each other when they are inserted into the handle, the handle portion and the ferrules providing sufiicient additional weight at the handle portion of the bow so as to steady the bow when the string is released.

.In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ABNER E. SHEPHERDSON. 

